The first novelty is called Twill. In this graceful rubber wheel, only a tread is provided that provides traction. Under it are elastic and fairly strongly deformable knitting needles - they make up the know-how. Such wheels are already being produced for low-speed crews (for example, wheelchairs, loaders), and in Detroit they could be seen for the first time on Audi A4. So far, this is only a concept and, as Michelin admitted, it’s before the mass replacement of pneumatics for at least 10-15 years. But in the tests, Twil already provided 5% fuel savings due to less rolling resistance and five (!) Higher lateral stiffness than a conventional tire, which caused an unusually lively response when driving. The developers even promise that the Twill wheels will replace not only tires, but also … elastic suspension elements!
